S.J. imposes contract on corrections officers

STOCKTON - County officials forced contract terms on correctional officers from the San Joaquin County Jail on Tuesday, following more than a year of negotiations that failed to reach a new employment agreement.

STOCKTON - County officials forced contract terms on correctional officers from the San Joaquin County Jail on Tuesday, following more than a year of negotiations that failed to reach a new employment agreement.

The terms include officers picking up a larger share of the cost of providing heath care and retirement benefits. These concessions are what county officials called some of the "key pillars" for keeping the county in good fiscal shape. The terms and the imposition of them is fair, officials said, since almost every other county employee had accepted them during negotiations in the lean years following the Great Recession.

But the correctional officers said the unilateral imposition of a 2 percent pay cut and other contract changes are harsher than those agreed to by other groups and are anything but fair for a group of workers who had already suffered layoffs as well as making sacrifices in a 2010 contract extension.

At its Tuesday meeting, the county Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Carlos Villapudua absent, in favor of the imposition of the terms, approving a recommendation from staff.

"Ninety percent of the employees within San Joaquin County have agreed to these key pillars and accepted concessions, and the San Joaquin County Correctional Officers Association should not be an exception," Human Resources Director Cynthia Clays said.

Negotiators from both sides began talking before the old contract expired at the end of June. They met 16 times, reaching a tentative agreement in September that the association's membership as a whole did not accept, according to the county. The county issued a final offer and declared impasse in October. Mediation followed, ending earlier this month.

Correctional Officers Association President George Lauchland questioned that the county conducted negotiations in good faith. "Anything that was brought to the table was brought by us." And the imposed terms were "punitive in nature," he said.

Other bargaining groups received raises to offset losses or were called on to pay a smaller percentage of medical costs than the correctional officers, said Dee Contreras, an attorney representing the officers.

Approximately 30 of the more than 200 correctional officers and sergeants who make up the bargaining group were at the Tuesday meeting.

Some had been rehired after being laid off during the worst of the budget cuts. They told the supervisors that the violence and brazenness of criminals on the streets in San Joaquin County is reflected in the population at the county jail.

It's a danger comparable to that faced by deputies on the streets, but the compensation for the correctional officers is not comparable, said Ruben Rodriguez. He said he was offended and insulted that the county would depict the correctional officers as greedy and selfish. "I take pride in the daily impact I make on the safety of my county, I just wish my county took pride in me."

The county still needs to be prudent to avoid future layoffs, Supervisor Bob Elliott said.

"I don't think it's an issue about being punitive or disrespectful," he said. "It is a fairness issue. We should expect all our bargaining units to participate in the concession process because we have to balance our budget. It's a question of fiscal responsibility."

Supervisor Steve Bestolarides said he was considering the "bigger picture." The future is still uncertain, and the county has already drawn from one-time sources of funding in the past four years that are almost depleted, he said.

"We've taken money away from projects that represent the future of everything that we do here in the county," he said. "I still see the continued call for sacrifice."

The imposed concessions are expected to bring the county an annual savings of $2.5 million, starting with $633,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year, according to the county. With the terms in place, the bargaining unit could request to begin new negotiations.